Census 2020

The current administration has looked at every opportunity to target the immigrant community. We’ve seen protections, such as DACA, rescinded which has caused panic and fear amongst DREAMers and all immigrants in the U.S.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Census Bureau announced its desire to include a citizenship question in the next decennial Census. This, by the very act of asking the question, will discourage Latinos (and other immigrant communities as well) from being counted. Community service organizations that rely on federal funding to support Latinos will suffer.

There will be two major consequences if Illinois Latinos DO NOT fill out and turn in their census:

• If Latinos in Illinois do not submit the census, they will not be appropriately counted for therefore not receiving the appropriate amount of funding deserved.
• In addition, it may result in losing a Congressional seat. Illinois is already slated to lose a Congressional seat this upcoming redistricting session, we cannot afford to lose another.

The argument for adding the question, according to a memo from Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, is to “provide census block level citizenship voting age population data that are not currently available from government survey data.” But, with the administration’s track record regarding creating laws, policies and tactics to intimidate and scare the Latino and immigrant community, it’s easy to see through the smoke and mirrors.

The fact is when people do not fill out the Census they are not counted, which is detrimental to Latinos. By adding this citizenship question, the administration is discouraging Latinos from being counted.

What are we doing about this? The Latino Policy Forum, along with other Latino organizations, met with elected officials and asked for funds in our state budget to better equip grassroots organizations, community leaders and people on the ground to inform and educate people about the upcoming census and the importance of filling it out and turning it in. The Forum respects the state leaders who saw the importance of an accurate count and allocated $1.5 million to focus on outreach and education. 

In the coming weeks and months, there will be valuable information distributed regarding these initiatives  and where people can to turn to learn more.

Just like when it comes to voting and understanding the power of our vote, we must also understand the power that comes with having our community counted.